Anniversary
by Durbe the Barian
Summary: Tohru Furuya's first meeting with his grandfather was one he would remember forever, even if he was only 14 months old. Sequelish to That Tiny Life with hints of Scotch and Bourbon. (Don't worry. Not the teary hints.) Tooru/Azusa.


Anniversary

Family

Rei Furuya, Azusa Enomoto, OC

Tohru Furuya's first meeting with his grandfather was one he would remember forever, even if he was only 14 months old. Sequelish to That Tiny Life with hints of Scotch and Bourbon. (Don't worry. Not the teary hints.)

(The baby Tohru – mine. DC/CC – not mine.)

* * *

Anniversary

* * *

Tohru Furuya gripped his father's collar in his pudgy hand, his available thumb resting between his teeth. His dark eyes had been cast down to the headstone before him.

"Furuya."

His grandfather. He would be in his mid-fifties if he were still alive. Tohru would know him.

But it just wasn't to be. Thanks to his mission that Rei had sworn never to speak about, Grandfather Furuya was destined to never lay eyes on his legacy. Tohru didn't know of this, nor was he ever to know. In the story he was going to be told, Grandfather was a Secret Police Officer who died during an unfortunate mishap that occurred during a job. The Black Organization was never to be mentioned.

Never.

"Hi, Dad," Rei said. "I have someone I want you to meet." He then lifted his son only a little bit. "This is Tohru." He looked to the baby boy in his arms. "Tohru, this is Grandfather."

Azusa got down on her knees and placed a flower in the vase beside the grave. "It's been a while, Father," she said. "Sorry for not coming sooner."

Tohru bent forward a little bit, eyes growing wide with curiosity. He pulled his thumb out from his mouth and reached for the headstone. "Gram...pa."

Both Rei and Azusa chuckled, smiles appearing on their faces. Small though he might have been, he was a fast learner nonetheless. Azusa claimed that he took it from his father, but Rei wasn't all certain. He felt that Tohru took more from Azusa, what with his attachment to cats, especially their house cat, Taii. But then again, with everything Rei had done prior to his marriage, that was possibly his fearful side talking; hoping that Tohru would never end up like him.

Never have to lie or cut off his friends.

Never have to trick or break into another person's home, whatever the reason may be.

Never end up in a situation where he had to force a smile onto his face, like Rei had done when he was Tooru Amuro.

As a father, it was only natural for him to think like that. Azusa had told him that soon after they realized they were going to be parents. So he didn't argue about it, only accepted it with a smile.

Tohru reached forward, obviously attempting to grab the headstone.

Perhaps he wished to give his grandfather a quick hug.

Rei could only laugh as Tohru bounced in his arms.

"It looks like he's happy to meet his grandfather," Azusa said with a grin.

"Yeah," Rei agreed, setting himself down beside his wife. Then he tucked his hands under Tohru's arms, allowing him to stand before his grandfather. "I'm glad."

Azusa nodded.

Tohru, meanwhile, reached forward and pressed his hands against the cold stone. Once he felt Rei hesitantly pull away, he looked back to his father. "Dada," he babbled. "Gram...pa."

Rei paused, then smiled and nodded.

"That's right, Tohru-chan," Azusa said, lifting her child off the ground. "That's your grandpa."

"Oh."

Tohru then looked back to his grandfather's grave, patting it with his pudgy hands.

* * *

Later that night, Azusa poked her head into the baby's room. Rei was sitting in the rocking chair, Tohru resting in his lap. Their eyes were cast on a large book Rei held in his fingers.

The title "_Great Tales of Hideo Furuya,_" was shining in the lamplight, thanks to gold marker.

Azusa chuckled. It took quite a few months of prodding on her part to get Rei to finally turn the little stories his father used to write into a book for their son. It wasn't easy, but it was most certainly worth it. Tohru adored those stories and Rei often had to read him one, lest the toddler stay awake in his crib all night.

There were many stories to choose from in that big book, though for obvious reasons, he chose to stick to the more innocent ones. The one he was reading involved the time his father had caught him in the middle of the night with jam on his face. Rei himself didn't remember the reason why that happened, and apparently, neither did his father, as he made no mention in the story.

"'He gave his son's face a good cleaning,'" Rei read, "'then took him back up to his bedroom to go to sleep.'" He looked down at little Tohru. "Do you know what he said once his son was back under his blanket?"

A wide-eyed face was all the answer Tohru could give. Chuckling, Rei closed the book, set it on the nightstand, and carried Tohru to his crib. The toddler laughed as he was placed gently on his mattress, followed by reaching out to his father as his legs were covered by his blanket. Rei bent down to face Tohru, brushing his hand through his son's dark hair. "He said, 'Now you'd better get to sleep, little man,'" he continued. "'Can't have you making all that noise.'"

Tohru giggled. Rei smiled, then gave the boy a kiss on the forehead. "Good night, Tohru," he whispered.

The toddler responded by touching his father's cheek before he stood back up.

Rei then turned around and walked through the door, turning on Tohru's nightlight as he did so.

Once the door had closed, Tohru yawned, rubbed his eyes, and fell asleep.

"That was a good story," Azusa whispered.

"Well, Tohru seemed to think so," Rei admitted. "Sure hope he gets some sleep. He's had a big day."

Azusa nodded.

"He most certainly has."

* * *

**D.T.B: Yes, I went with a different spelling of 'Tooru.' This was meant to separate the characters. And no, that is not the true name of Tooru's old man. (At least, to my knowledge.) If it turns out to be true, this will be my reaction. → (O_O) **


End file.
